Comptroller Auditor General of India Mr.Rajiv Mehrishi is appointed as auditor of WHO for four years

This is the second major international audit assignment for Indian CAGI

Comptroller and Auditor General of India Rajiv Mehrishi has been elected as external auditor of the World Health Organization (WHO) for four years.

Mehrishi was elected at the 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva last month with a majority. His tenure will be between 2020 and 2023 for consecutive four financial years.

“Rajiv Mehrishi will take over from the incumbent External Auditor of WHO, the Supreme Audit Institution of Philippines.

Key points of Mehrishi’s appointment

The election was held at the seventy-second World Health Assembly in Geneva on May 23, 2019, where the CAG of India was elected with a majority 90 out of 162 votes in the first round of voting itself.

Apart from India, others competing for the position were the Auditors General of Congo, France, Ghana, Tunisia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

This is the second major international audit assignment for the CAG this year, following his selection for the post of External Auditor of the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome in March 2019.

The CAG of India is currently also on the Board of Auditors of the United Nations and Vice-Chair of the UN Panel of External Auditors.

Who is Mr.Rajiv Mehrishi?

Rajiv Mehrishi (born 8 August 1955) is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of 1978 batch belonging to Rajasthan cadre.

He is the current Comptroller and Auditor General of India (C&AG) and Vice – Chairman of United Nations Panel of External Auditors

He was appointed the Home Secretary of India on 31 August 2015

He served as finance secretary of India before 2015

Before coming into national cadre, he was chief secretary of Rajasthan

Whai is 72nd World Health Assembly in Geneva?

The 72nd World Health Assembly will take place on 20-28 May 2019 in Geneva, Switzerland

The event serves to determine the policies of the WHO, appoint its director-general, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed program budget.

The event will be open to delegations from all WHO member states, and will focus on a specific health agenda prepared by WHO’s executive board.

What is CAGI?

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India is an authority, established by Article 148 of the Constitution of India, which audits all receipts and expenditure of the Government of India and the state governments.

The CAG is also the external auditor of Government-owned corporations and conducts supplementary audit of government companies like non-banking or non-insurance company in which Union Government has an equity share of at least 51 per cent.

The reports of the CAG are taken into consideration by the Public Accounts Committees (PACs) and Committees on Public Undertakings (COPUs), which are special committees in the Parliament of India and the state legislatures.

The CAG is also the head of the Indian Audit and Accounts Department, the affairs of which are managed by officers of Indian Audit and Accounts Service, and has over 58,000 employees across the country.